Seether
by kaiwai
Summary: The vampire and hunter war has ended; freshly graduated from the academy, Zero Kiryu has been sent to work under Providence, a branch of the Association that trains and houses elite ex-human hunters. When Zero meets Alice, however, he quickly finds out that they are the only ones left of the ex-human hunters, and whoever has been kidnapping the others, is watching Zero closely...
1. Chapter 1-Append

**A/N: There's quite a bit I understand is hard to grasp, but be patient with me. I will explain more later in the story, and if you have questions, comments, or want some definitions(i.e Providence: the branch of the Hunter's Association that trains ex-human vampires to become elite, deadly hunter assassins; Syndeo: the group that have been kidnapping the ex-human hunters of Providence; Archives: the oldest records dating back to thousands of years before the vampire/hunter war. These records were said to have been destroyed after the war, but Providence has kept them with Johnny at the Bottom; Johnny at the Bottom: the name of the underground railroad the ex-human hunters used) go ahead and either message me or review. **

**Also(if you don't want to spoil, read this after you read the chapter) a little spoiler, HEADS UP: the pureblood vampire at the end of the chapter sounds like it would be Kaname at first, but it's not. It's Haruka, his father. This takes place just before the story starts, when Syndeo starts kidnapping all Providence's soldiers. He was the one that took Alice when she was a baby, and he gave her to someone that could take care of her(after Kaname was born, which would make Alice and Kaname roughly the same age), so Alice and Kaname, though Alice denies it, have a strong relationship. **

**So, in short, BLAH BLAH BLAH HERE'S A BUNCH OF CONFUSING INFO, ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, that belongs to Matsuri Hino. Alice in Wonderland in this book as referenced belongs to Walt Disney.**

* * *

The skylight poured in over the glass windows through the thin white sheets. ' _Ludicrous. I just fell asleep and now I have to wake up…'_

Long, twin teal ponytails trailed behind the sixteen year old as she sat up, throwing the white silk sheets from her legs to get up and stretch into her white bunny slippers. She yawned, pulling down her white tank top to hide her pale stomach back underneath, and slipped her white spandex shorts over her white underwear before heading out of her room and down the black spiraling stairs to the kitchen downstairs. As usual, the kitchen was cleaned and empty of the maids, which led the sixteen year old to believe they must be in the living room finishing up, but to her dismay, they weren't there either.

Her now bare feet trailed up the glass stairs to the maids' rooms, but those were empty as well. Everything in the house that she knew was clean, orderly, and fixated(as she knew it would be since those insane maids got up early enough to beat the birds and finished the entire house by the time their mistress got up), but the maids were nowhere to be seen, and usually, she would find them finishing up the last of the housework before they showered and went back to bed.

But none of the maids were there. They were all gone, and assuming they'd be gone for a while, she decided she would watch a movie instead.

The sixteen year old plopped on the couch(after changing into her usual casual green cargo shorts and black spaghetti strap) and turned on Alice in Wonderland.

She looked down at her phone to check her messages, and realized that one of the messages was from a foreign number.

_A lone, sleeping child wrapped in a tattered old blanket lay in an old cardboard box in front of the abandoned theatre. The rain had brightly decorated the theatre but avoided the baby, creating a sort of a shelter around it. The baby smiled softly in its sleep, completely unaware of what was happening and unaware of the creeping shadow in the distance._

She instantly dropped her phone to the ground. Only one person knew of that night. Only one person knew...but there it was. Clear as day. Had somehow someone else been there..?

She went over the memory again and again in her head. Nothing. If anything was even there, she'd not missed it, because everything she knew she'd remembered was intact and hadn't been unaccounted for.

But...what if-?

No. This couldn't be played on what ifs. She was the game _master, _not the game _player._

_Something wasn't right. Something about this strategy is fixed. There must be a way to think without thinking..._

* * *

The entrance to the lower level basement was walled off, and only with the keeper's code could anyone pass through. The sixteen year old unlocked the encryption easily and the wall shifted with a swift "welcome back, Alice".

It's true. Alice was her _real _name, and it was the only way of her knowing who she truly was in this twisted game anymore.

Alice made her way down the winding stairs to the lower level basement, and there, behind the glass ceiling-to-floor windows, sat some of her enemies and some old backstabbing colleagues, bleeding, unconscious, or kept so long in that hell with no light that they were a body with a wandering soul. She looked around a bit until she wandered into the section for her captives, and stopped at one cell in particular.

His clothes were tattered old rags, his skin ice cold and sickly pale as it was heavily dirtied in certain areas signified by clots of dirt stains on his milky skin. His lower lip was busted; he had been slapped hard enough to split his lip, and his eyes were dark with lack of sleep. His barely shoulder-length brown hair was messy and bloody, clinging to his cheeks and jawline as if clinging to life itself.

His dark garnet brown eyes looked up to meet her blue ones and she smirked. "About time you finally learn to look at me. I want to know something. Who did you tell about the baby?"

He didn't answer. He simply kept a straight-faced gaze at her until he felt his head jerk to the side from a sharp slap and she snapped, "tell me who told you about the baby, Kuran, or I swear,I will kill you right here."

"No you won't," he retorted, "you'll just beat me until you get tired and bored and you'll leave." In reality, he had no idea what she was talking about, but he knew if he denied anything, it wouldn't help keep his family safe. So he decided to tell her what she wanted to hear.

"Alright. Some guy came in earlier. Told me something about a baby...I don't remember the specifics, but, he's trying to find it, he says."

It was a complete lie, but it would work for now.

"Who was it?"

Shit.

"I didn't catch his name. He was wearing a fancy necklace with a weird occult-type symbol or something."

"A cinegatti?"

"Yeah."

"There's only one group with that kind of symbol anymore..."


	2. Chapter 2-I Will Not Bow

The young 17-year old trailed contentedly behind his much older master, curiously eyeing the area in which they were walking. There had obviously been a special kind of fair set up for the hunters in honor of the recent victory between the hunters and vampires, and an estate by an especially well-renowned hunter had been opened every year for this sort of affair. There were always hundreds of hunters from around the world as well as vendors selling everything from food to goods to weapons, and even a few treasures found here and there.

They weren't there for food, or weapons, or any kind of treasure, however. What they truly came for(and of which the 17 year old had no idea) was kept secret, entrusted into the Association's most trusted and most practical hunters. What they truly came for, was a vampire.

After the hunters had won the war and the Association had taken most of the nobles and purebloods captive, they had been sold as slaves of some sort, to make money, or for personal use like testing, slavery, or just to keep and resell.

That's why they were here, and since Zero was a starting hunter with a powerful, cursed hunter's gun(and he wasn't a terrible shot, either) he was coming to find a vampire to use for his own purposes.

The two headed into the luxurious modern-day Japanese style home with extreme caution for Zero's sake for hunters' traps, and when it was determined clean, they entered the house, wary of every detailed prospect of the inside.

The house was filled with abstract objects, entirely coated with marble jade for pillars to hold up the ceiling, as well as for serving as a beautifully slated floor. The indoor balcony in the upper third level floor overlooked the entire livingroom, which was mostly empty save for a few lit incense stiucks near a tall, open cut window.

Once they reached the grand hallway, it opened into a lounge room, where a teal-haired teenager a year Zero's junior sat recklined on a white couch, a pure silk white down adoring her delicate figure. Zero snorted.

"This child is supposed to be one of the best hunters to have ever existed? She's younger than me, " he scoffed.

"Now, Zero," his master insisted, "don't underestimate her power. A sixteen year old teenage girl is the most lethal weapon on the field."

The teal haired girl giggled as if pleased by the elder hunter's observation, and she stood, gesturing towards an open white leather couch in front of her, the grand white silk curtains leaving a shadowy form over it.

She smiled. "I assure you, Kiryu, the sunlight cannot hurt you. The windows have sensitive ultraviolet protection that make the window tint darken with the more intense beams," she said, coaxing Zero to sit.

Zero growled. "that's not the only thing fishy here," he retorted, earning himself a sharp cuff upside the head from his master. Zero glared at his master, unconsciously rubbing where he'd been hit, and the girl giggled. All three sat at the couches as the girl spoke. "Alice, at your service. Six term vampire hunter. Nine term elite. Five term Providence leader." Instinctually, Zero leaned into his master, signaling to the elder hunter his confusion. "Six years vampire hunter, nine years elite assassin-hunter, five years leader of Providence,"he clarified, and Alice continued.

"So, I'm the one you see leading the hunters in missions and assigning proper rehabilitation for the noble, aristocratic, and pureblooded vampires. Purebloods of which you don't see very much anymore, since most of them were so overconfident in their own ability to survive, they were killed."

"By who..? Surely not even the most elite of hunters-"

"Oh, no, dear. In exchange for the freedom of some of the smarter, more cooperative purebloods, they'd assassinate their own kind."

"Did you keep your word?"

"Of course. They'd never make it very long or very far, however, because most of them were found and killed later by rebel groups, and by then they'd be too weak to defend themselves from the rebels. There was only one family we kept here, but under the head's request."

"Which family was it..?"

"Kuran."


	3. Chapter 3-Krwlng

Kuran was still in hell, he knew that much was clear when he woke up. He'd wished he hadn't been. He'd rather elude the hunters than be captured by them. But, because he was enslaved at an early age with the rest of his family, he'd not much of a chance.

The soft sheets crinkled under his movement as he struggles to get up, but heard a faint clicking sound, and immediately lay back down, pretending to be asleep. The all-too-familiar voice of an ex-human hunter that had doomed him was here, and from what Kuran could smell, she wasn't alone.

The teal-haired hunter led her fellow kind down towards Kuran's cell, speaking softly. "He's like my pet, you could say. He is my favorite of all the vampires here, and not just because he's a pureblood or a Kuran, but because I've had him and conditioned him longer than the others," she inquired.

She typed a foreign code into the black electric device on the wall and the glass cut off the cell, which shifted the dense the glass so it went from foggy to transparent, and she slowly stepped inside, Kiryu at her heels. She noted Kuran was well-awake, even when feigning sleep, so she played along with his little trick.

"Kuran-sama, wake up," she said softly, and gently twirled a strand of his hair in her fingers. Kuran stirred, but didn't wake, so the teen shook him lightly and he slit an eye open to look up at her and register the scene.

After confirming that there was no serious threat in waking up at the moment, Kuran sat up, rubbing his eyes.

Zero's mask nearly slipped.

This vampire wasn't like any he'd ever seen or been told about. There were rusted and bloody shackles on his wrists and barbed wire spiked with a hunter charm around the inside of the shackles and around his throat. Dried blood caked to his torn t-shirt and jeans. His ribs protruded way past his skin from where it was evident he was malnourished and probably starved. Bruises and welts as well as gashes and shredded skin covered his body, then Zero quickly realized he couldn't've been older than Zero himself, and the vampire looked like a child from the state he was in.

"Come on, Zero. He won't hurt you. He can't," the teen cooed, and Zero hesitantly walked towards them. "He can't bite me or claw me, can he?" Zero asked, and the teen giggled. "No, he can't. He's been de-fanged and de-clawed," she smiled as she spoke and Zero slowly sat in front of the pureblood, watching him as the garnet eyes bore with lack of life into the carpeted floor. The teen girl sighed.

"I'll leave you two alone for a bit. You have Bloody Rose. Use her."

Then she dragged Yagari out of the room, leaving the prey and the hunter alone.

"Are you sure it's a good idea to leave them alone, Ali?" Yagari asked, worried for his student. Ali nodded. "It's safe. It's the only other way he can learn to get accustomed to vampires before the Association sends him here.'

'How do you know they'll send him here?"

"This is Providence. I'm the only hunter here. In fact, if it wasn't for me, every ex-human on the planet would be beyond dead."


	4. Chapter 4-Before I Forget

**A/N: So this chapter was waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay longer than I thought it would be, but that's good, because when I think about it, there really is a lot of information I need to cover in order for the whole story to make sense. For example, in a few chapters, the locations and building names will be a lot different than in real life, because obviously the way history went was affected by all of this, and thus, yes. And anyway, the original chapter was a lot shorter, and I wasn't happy with some of the things that happened, or how things went. Like the conversation, for example, between Zero and Kaname was _way _too short, and covered so little, because at the time I didn't have a plan fully developed. And now I do! So I'm going to shutup and let you guys enjoy!**

**Warning: There is some cursing, gore, rape, and suggestive scenes that if you're not okay with, I would suggest you skip this chapter. If you absolutely _must _read this chapter, firstly, I'm honored, and second, message me on here, and I'll just explain everything without the bad stuff:) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, it belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

"I suppose you have some questions about Providence that Alice didn't answer."

The sudden break in silence made Zero jump, and he blinked, staring at Kaname like Dorothy and Scarecrow stared at Tin Man thinking, 'did he really just talk?'

"Yeah, actually, I want to know why-" Zero began after collecting himself, but the pureblood stopped him.

"Why ex-humans are treated better than purebloods?"

"Y-yeah."

"Simple. They're human. We're not."

Zero froze. He was able to continue living his life after that night. Able to move on. Able to develop a hatred towards vampires. Able to become a hunter. Able to even just live somewhat of a normal life. All in the meantime, human or not, this kid had to grow up loathed, beaten, broken, and a million and one other things Zero could fill an encyclopedia about, and rather than thinking than this vampire, he's lived his life. This kid's life is gone. All that was just too much.

"How is that fair-!? It doesn't make sense that before we weren't-"

"It's Alice's fault. She hasn't been an ex-human for long."

"What do you mean..?"

"Alice was one of the elite hunters. She had to be, because her father was one of the board members of the Association."

_A young blue eyed brunette sprints across a barren field, far ahead of the rest of her fellow hunters, and carefully scoped the perimeter of the building she was steadily approaching._

"Was..?"

"He passed away of cancer just before the war. If they weren't critisist of her then for being female, they were now. Especially since her father wasn't around."

_A black haired blue eyed girl dressed in hunter gear sits asleep in her chair at the hospital, her closest friends and partner hunters asleep on the couches with her._

"What did she do..? And how does this tie in with ex-humans..?"

"I'm getting there. Now because of the position she had earned, she was one of the first to be sent in when the war began. She was in charge of battle strategy, which can be an extremely stressful job if you have a dozen men hovering over you and making sure everything is perfect, plus the lives of thousands of people in your hands dependant on if you make the right move or not."

_A white haired girl with bright blue eyes storms into her room only to sweep everything off her desk, place a prop of the town on top, and immediately begin working on an evacuation plan._

"She didn't crack?"

"No. She stayed solid the whole time. It was on the field when she finally cracked. They had deployed that morning, and she and a few 'bodyguard' hunters were clearing buildings, making sure there weren't any vampires in the buildings and that everyone had evacuated as she had planned. They did a full perimeter check of the city, trapping-"

"Trapping all the vampires in one place...that was her plan..."

_Seven hunters dressed in heavy black gear storm in through building upon building upon building, scouring the town for any survivors and a reason to kill._

"And it worked. But not for us. My father suspected the Association would do something, and so, we hid."

"What about Alice? Wouldn't she have found you?"

"You would think so. You would also think a hunter would be able to sense a pureblood coming."

_One hunter in particular signals the rest out, and she follows steadily behind them, unaware of the young presence behind her._

"Oh God...she was attacked by a pureblood? But they-"

It clicked then. Everything made sense. "You attacked her," Zero said, and Kaname nodded. "It had been a few weeks since they ordered the evacuation, and it took them so long to get to us. Believe it or not, a few weeks is a long time for a four-year-old to fight hunger."

_A four year old brunette vampire sits under a broken pipe, the only one small enough and able to fit in the secluded hiding space. White glistened, and his little pants became a bit more rapid._

"Your parents didn't..?"

"They did. I lied and told them I was fine because I thought I had better control of myself than that."

_A beautiful brunette woman approached the young vampire, and with the gentle stroke of a mother, gestures her wrist to her child, but the vampire shakes his head rapidly. Worriedly, she recedes, and the little vampire continues to fight his born nature._

"So what happened?"

"When they were coming in, there was a lot of glass that had been knocked out. My father told me it was from a previous raid, which I thought was strange since Alice's unit was the first to storm in, but that's a different story. Anyways, so she wasn't used to storming such large buildings, and the jobs were getting harder and harder with such little men..."

_The seven hunters stormed the next building, moving more north towards the mountains. The building was clear, but it took a little longer this time to clear it._

_"What have I told you idiots about our time limit!? Do you want to be killed!?" the female leader snaps, and one of the soldiers is just brave enough to stand up to her. "The further north we go, the bigger these buildings get. I think it would be a good idea to bring Ishigami and Kurosawa," he said, and their leader whirled to face him, losing a bit of her calm. "What, Goto, so you can fuck around with them!? This is _my _mission! If I call in even a _single _body of backup, they'll strip me of everything and throw me out of the Association!" she snapped, and addressed soldier backed off. She growled softly to herself and turned around, only to nearly trip over a rusted pipe that had been protruding from one of the walls. With a yelp and quick reflexes, she managed to avoid the pipe and some serious disease issues with just a scratch, and the soldiers were immediately by her side and checking the area for vampires that would be attracted to the scent of the blood. _

_Suddenly, they heard a soft scratching sound, before a small blur was at their leader's feet and attacking her throat. She gasped as the fangs pierced her throat, and in a weird sense, it almost didn't hurt at all. Almost. Until the little vampire pulled from her throat and ripped it open. _

_Her attempt to stop the blood flow was futile, and blood began to stain her uniform immensely. A brunette woman was kneeling in front of her in an instant, her brunette husband cradling their squirming, bloodthirsty son. The other soldiers had their anti-vampire weapons at her head immediately, but to their surprise, she backed off. "She's going to become an ex-human anyway, and if I don't help her, she's going to die," the woman insisted, "please, let me help her." Goto slowly lowered his gun, and nodded to the other soldiers. "She's right," he said, "she can help Alice." The other soldiers backed off, and Goto turned to look at the woman. "You do understand, miss, after this, we're going to have to take you and your family in? I'm sorry it has to be like this, but your son attacked a human...it's-"_

_"I understand," the woman interrupted, and Goto grew silent, letting her heal their leader._

"I didn't want this kind of life for my sister...at the time, my mother was pregnant with her. Thankfully, because of that, they were a lot easier on my mother, and despite having arrested her, Alice took a liking to my mother, and eventually, to my father. She fought even harder against the Association now, because she was a female ex-human hunter, and if you think you have it bad, you haven't experienced anything until you've been treaded on, outnumbered, and beaten down by the soldiers you had once called friends. Even the six she went on the raid with drifted away from her. Nobody wanted anything to do with her, and she wasn't getting much for missions anymore."

"So how did she get Providence?"

Kaname pointed to a side of the wall which had obviously been caulked over, badly textured, and off-colour repainted. "That used to be part of a bathroom cabinet. There was this one old, rusted pipe that stuck out. It was the perfect place to play hide and seek with my mother."

"She turned your home into Providence..?"

"It's not as bad as it seems. She had good intentions. Originally. She felt conflicted about everything, but she felt grateful to my mother for saving her life. So, she fixed up the mansion, and confronted the Association about starting a housing program with the vampires that the Association had no idea what to do with. That was surprisingly easy for her, and it immediately got approved, but the hard part was figuring out how to convince the Association to release my family and I to Providence. So, Alice explained what had happened with her; at the time nobody knew she was an ex-human until this; and the Association agreed, under two conditions. First, that she would leave the Association, be honorably discharged from the field, relieve her position, and secondly, that she kill the vampire that attacked her."

"How did your parents convince her-"

"They didn't have to. She couldn't. She loved me. My mother explained the situation with me, and after a while, she had grown to love me while they had us contained. But the Association didn't tell her that they would check up on her to make sure she killed me, and they killed my parents and my sister. Ever since then...it's like she blames me for everything that happened, because she hates me now."

Kaname shook his head. "I can't do anything right in her eyes anymore," he said, and Zero almost cried. "It seems like you guys did have quite a relationship from the way you become upset about her disappointment in you." He couldn't imagine if Yagari were to suddenly decide one day he hated the boy. After losing his twin, and his parents, he couldn't lose his master as well. Yagari was the closest thing to any form of family he had left.

When Zero looked up, Kaname's expression had changed. He looked almost as if he was concentrating on something, but he was closed off at the same time, so it was hard to tell what he was thinking. Then Zero smelled it. Blood.

Down the hall, somebody had started to scream; Zero assumed one of the more lunatic vampires that had succumbed to isolation. From this, somehow, the vampire had made himself bleed, and Kaname was fighting his blood lust, but trying to hide it by pretending to think about something.

Zero knew he shouldn't do this. It wasn't a smart idea. It was never a smart idea, but, he felt bad after everything Kaname had told him, and what the pureblood had gone through. "Kaname," he almost whispered, "do you want to drink from me?"

Kaname froze. He'd never been asked anything like that before, and if he had, it'd been a cruel trick by Alice that involved her teasing him with her blood before she drank from him and wasted him. Assuming it was another trick, or some kind of test, he simply shook his head, refusing the hunter. "No," he said, "I can fight it. Shiki has these sort of breakdowns all the time; he's a pureblood, and his ability is to control blood so he regularly tries to break the glass with-"

"Kaname. I'm serious. Please..." Zero pleaded, and Kaname looked at him, shocked. "Zero, I'm not supposed to-" Zero interrupted him by slitting his own wrist and holding it to Kaname's mouth. Kaname flinched. _'Shit. This kid has probably never seen a pureblood before.' _

Kaname stuck his tongue out weakly, at first, only trying to lick the hunter's wrist healed, but the hunter's blood tasted _a lot _better than he had expected, and he couldn't control himself anymore.

Zero stopped as Kaname suddenly hung his head, and the only sounds now were both their heavy pants and the ringing in Zero's ears. A soft chuckle echoed through the soundproof room, when Zero realized it came from the vampire sitting in front of him.

Kaname's talon-like claws extended and to Zero's disbelief and horror, his fangs grew back instantly. Zero felt a hard, sudden pressure against his chest, and as soon as the pressure had disappeared, he felt something flat slam against his back as quick as the crack coming from somewhere in the room. It took Zero a moment before he realized he'd been shoved into the glass cell door and the crack he heard was his ribs. _'No worries,'_ he thought, _'I'll heal.'_

A gunshot rang in Zero's ears just before he felt a burning hot intensity shake his body from his shoulder, where the source of the pain surged through his blood. _'Shit...hunter poison...he must've snuck Bloody Rose from my jacket...'_

"K-Kaname...trust m-me...y-you don't want to do this..." Zero sounded weaker than he'd wanted to, which made the pureblood edging towards him lick his lower lips unconsciously.

The next instant, Kaname had the hunter pinned to the glass with his will, and watched as the stubborn ex-human squirmed and fought against his invisible grasp in vain. "D-don't do this!" Zero blurted, knowing what was about to happen as well as knowing how pathetic he sounded, and instead of responding, the pureblood now inches from the hunter's neck slowly dragged his claws across the hunter's chest.

Zero closed his eye tightly in desperation to keep silent and in agony as the stinging burn of vampire claws kissed his skin. The pain was suddenly too much, and he arched his back, struggling desperately to grab his stance on the ground again as he tossed his head back, panting heavily.

Kaname watched as amethyst eyes grew wide in burning pain and fear, tinging red and threatening to go over the edge. The pureblood smirked, and deliberately sunk his claws into the hunter's pale stomach, resisting every instinctive urge to gut and pluck the boy's organs out; yet.

Zero arched his back again screaming, and accidentally forced the vampire's blood-slick claws deeper into his stomach, making him hiss and bare his fangs at the pureblood. Kaname simply grinned mischievously in response, twisting his claws around, causing the young hunter uncomfortable pain. Toying with this hunter was proving to be fun. Kind of like how he had toyed with Alice the night she raided the mansion...

The pureblood finally pulled his claws away from the younger vampire, and licked them clean of blood and flesh. Zero shuddered mentally, panting heavily and at times holding his breath from pain, trying immensely to fight Kaname's will.

Kaname smirked, tightening his mental hold on the hunter, and forced his head to the side, opening up the pale neck and showing off the tattoo on the hunter's neck.

Zero panicked when he felt his head jerk to the side, clawing desperately at the glass behind him in attempt to back away from the pureblood. A warm, wet tongue slid over his tattoo, teasing the pale skin lightly, and Zero groaned from deep within his sore throat.

Kaname smirked as he felt the hunter's throaty response, lavishing the sensitive skin with lips, teeth, and tongue. Zero mewled in pleasure when the pureblood started sucking on the sensitive skin, practically melting into the glass and tilted his head back, opening his neck invitingly. _'What is he doing?! Stop!'_

A string of fire jolted down his body, pooling in his lower stomach. Zero let out a low moan as the pureblood's wandering hands slid up his shirt, and the delicate fingers tore the shirt off the hunter's body.

Fangs sank into the young hunter's neck, making his breath hitch. The pureblood heavily drank down the blood he'd not tasted since he could remember. He hadn't ever really had drank from anybody before, except from his best friend Ichijou Takuma when they were boys, just before the horrible result of the war.

Zero tried to push the pureblood away but ended up pulling him closer instead, tangling his fingers in the brunette's blood-damp hair. Zero panted heavily, in immense pain, and coming to a haze as the world around him started to blur.

Metal vines slowly crept up the pureblood's form, warning him with a light prick at first, but then dug into his skin like barbed wire, thorns shredding the already dirt-stained and bloody skin. Kaname stopped and backed off, immediately recognizing Bloody Rose's touch, and stumbled backwards a bit, shaking his head as the last of the demonic spirits left his mind. That's when he smelled it.

Blood.

Kaname looked up at the hunter wide-eyed, watching Zero as his back slid slowly down the glass, leaving a smear of blood. His gaze was glazed over and focused on the ground below his feet, but his mind seemed to be almost completely gone. He knew what would happen if his tongue touched Zero's blood-ridden wrist, and he let it happen anyway. He let it all happen anyway. _'Such a fool!'_

Zero reached weakly and blindly for Bloody Rose, but his hand dropped after a moment, and his whole world went black.


	5. Chapter 5-Sail

**A/N: Wow, this chapter is incredibly short compared to the last one, but I'm having a bit of a writer's block, so that's probably why. You see, I wrote this book a while ago, then quit because the app I was using sucked(and I hadn't discovered this website yet), and so I stopped writing it. The last month or so that I had my toshiba, I also wrote this completely mental-worthy pnats-peeing super-creepy-and-based-on-a-dream-i-had horror novel, and I'm going to use that for the ending of this story, because I've only planned so far into the story, and that little horror fic will finish off perfectly. well, I'm going to shutup now and let you all enjoy the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. That belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

"What in the world could be taking those two so long? Are they freakin' having sex in there?!" Ali said as she threw her hands in the air out of frustration. Yagari chuckled.

"You have to admit, that pureblood's not bad. I think I saw a twinkle in Zero's eye when he saw the kid, " Yagari joked, and Ali whirled around to face him.

"Not. Funny," she said, pausing between words to emphasize her exasperation. Ali suddenly froze, feeling her fangs start to poke her bottom lip. "Do you smell that?" She asked; "it's blood. And lots of it." Yagari frowned and took off running towards the cell, calling out, "Zero!"

"Wait, Yagari! It's Kaname's blood I smell!"

Yagari didn't hear her. He just kept running until he reached Kaname's cell, and there it was he saw Zero unconscious and motionless in the pureblood's arms where he had been feeding the hunter his blood. Zero's clothes were tattered and the upper half of his body that had been exposed was covered in claw marks and blood, which unsettled Yagari.

Ali caught up as Zero stirred, starting to wake.

Zero looked around a bit at the blurred room before his eyes cleared a bit, and the same garnet eyes that had before refused to look at him at all were gazing upon him, stricken with fear and worry. Zero could taste something incredibly sweet on his lips, and realized that Kaname had given the hunter his blood in order to increase his healing rate, and it worked. Most of the pain had faded to a dull buzz, one at which Zero could tolerate, and it made the hunter more subconsciously aware of his surroundings.

Ali unlocked the cell door, allowing them both into the cell and Yagari was at Zero's side in a moment. "What happened?" He asked, taking in Zero's terrible state. Ali shook her head. "Get Zero away from Kaname, Yagari. I haven't fed him real, fresh blood since he got here and I don't want him going blood crazy," she said. Yagari nodded and picked up his student bridally, carrying him out the door as Ali clean-cut knocked the pureblood across his mouth. Kaname hit the ground on his side and spat blood onto the floor. Ali kicked his chest and side until she heard a sufficient number of cracks, and right as she was about to break his neck, a weak voice called out to them from Yagari's arms.

"Stop, please...please..." Zero pleaded over and over, "just stop. Please..."

Yagari shifted him lightly. "You're in shock, Zero. You don't realize what's happened to you. The pureblood bastard deserves it."

Zero shook his head. "I'll come back and deal with him. Leave him, please."

Ali sighed and left the pureblooded vampire to bleed on the floor. "Alright," she said, "but let's get you healed up and in a better condition first."


	6. Chapter 6-Aerials

**A/N: dear lord this chapter is unbelievably short. I will, however, post another chapter after this one to make up for the incredibly short shortness. there's not a lot going on in this chapter, and I thought I had written a bit more about this, but I guess not. Anyway, I would really appreciate it if those of you reading this would kindly throw in some questions or commentary so that I may better explain certain things. It would help a great deal, and I give a special thanks to Darth-Taisha for staying with the story the whole time and always giving an encouraging congrats for me. Thank you dear:3 As she told me, she doesn't really read stories with OCs but this one is pulling her in, so I'm happy that I'm doing this right, but at the same time, I'm worried that I may not be able to keep up with the way I've been going, which is why I need commentary to help me keep on track and continue to keep my readers.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight; that belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

Chapter Six-Aerials

"Providence is taking me in as a student?" Zero asked, trying to shorten Ali's difficult explanation.

"Yes," Ali said, "which is why your sensei left you here under my care. You'll be training with the vampires under me. Since you seemed so fond of that pureblood, I'll let you handle him on your own."

Zero nodded. "Are you sure? You did say he's your favorite."

Ali chuckled, "I did, Zero, indeed I did. Let me tell you something.

"That vampire inside him, it's been stuffed as deep into the back of his soul as it can. I've had him here a while, now, and after ten minutes you're the first person to uncover his vampiric instincts. I've never been able to do that in the time I've known him. You have a special connection with him, Zero. One I've not seen in any of the vampires I own..." Her smile faded turning into an almost regretful look and she sighed, "I don't know why, but I can never get anything, no matter how I do."

"I'm sorry, Ali. Could I see the other vampires you own while I'm here? I'm just curious..." Zero said. Ali nodded her smile coming back, "but of course, my dear. This way, then."


	7. Chapter 7-Breezeblocks

**A/N: Unfortunately for my other story, because the chapters are not prewritten, it will take me longer to update that one. And for this one, as soon as I hit chapter nine, I'm going to have to start writing the rest of the story, but this one is only prewritten to chapter nine. That means the updates might be coming at a slower rate...sorry guys...also, I almost forgot to mention there's suggested rape in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, it belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

Chapter Seven-Breezeblocks

Screams and crying could be heard as they walked once more together down the hall, this time more intense since some of the vampires had smelled Zero coming and assumed he'd be a regular show. One brown-red haired pureblood was brave enough to attempt blood-bending Zero, but all Zero was able to feel through the protective fiber-glass was a slight tingling in his body that ended soon after the pureblood was out of sight. "He's a pureblood, like Kaname. How come I can't see him?" Zero asked, and Ali sighed. "I'm sorry, Zero, but if I were to allow you to so much as stand in front of the glass for too long, the creature would hypnotize you to do his bidding. There's only one vampire that's been able to keep him calm and under control, and that's his lover. But they've been separated. That's why I'm taking you to see his lover first."

Zero and Ali approached the glass; Ali typing the password and giving her fingerprints as Zero gazed through the glass at the blonde sitting in front of him. When Ali explained the pureblood from earlier had a lover, Zero didn't expect it to be a male lover. Zero watched the blonde, debating getting closer. He didn't seem to be much of a threat to the hunter, beside the fact he'd been clawing himself bloody red; though he didn't have much for claws. Zero decided to slowly approach him, and when he felt he was a good distance, he kneeled in front of the blonde. "Takuma, "he began, "I know you miss him...I can take you to see him...but you have to promise me you're going to protect me from him..or I can't help you..." The blonde vampire looked up at him with an intense green gaze that almost haunted Zero, and, after what Zero swore felt like hours, the blonde spoke. "How can I trust you're not going to kill me or do something?" Zero bit his lip. There was one way he could assure the blonde no danger, but if Takuma couldn't keep his end of the bargain, that pureblood could shred him into pieces before Zero could blink. Zero reluctantly set his Bloody Rose down between he and Takuma, and the vampire sat up. "I need to be sure you can keep that pureblood from putting ANYBODY here in danger, Takuma, please..."

"Senri."  
"What..?"  
"His name is Senri. Senri Kuran. He's the son of Juuri and Rido. If you even get within a hundred foot radius of him, and he feels threatened, he'll slaughter you quicker than you can see it coming. Yes, I keep him calm, but it's whether or not he feels threatened that makes him react."

"Look at me, Ichijou. I am putting my weapon down and trusting you will keep him from lashing out at me. I just need an answer. Can you do this?"

"I'm telling you I can't guarantee I can protect you from him. I can try, but that's the best I've got."

"Zero stood and held his gun to Takuma's head. "Well, what if this is the best I'VE got? What do you think SENRI will have to say to that? I need a straight answer. Can you control him?"

Takuma looked up at Zero, unsure of his own answer. "Yes, "he said, voice quivering. "Yes, I can control him."

* * *

**Alright, I know it's weird that there's a not at the end, because I don't typically do that, but I didn't want to give any spoilers away. Yes, Senri is the son of Juuri and Rido. I decided to change that much about this. The reason why his name is still the same is because I didn't want to change him completely so he was unrecognizable as Senri, so I decided to put in that Rido took advantage of Juuri instead of Senri's mother in the anime. I forget her name...I think it starts with an 'I'. Anyway, so obviously, after he found out, Haruka killed Rido for that. Trust me, pacifists like Juuri and Haruka would never consider an abortion or giving up a child, so that's why they kept him, but not for long, because they were captured soon after that. **


	8. Chapter 8-Brain Stew

**A/N: Okay hopefully this will satisfy some of y'all's lust for a while. The only thing I ask is that you all send me a review or message letting me know if my flow is still golden. I feel like I'm going to start to lose some of you soon, just because there's a lot of talking and crap involved, but I assure you all, there will be plenty of action soon enough. Also, obviously, when we reach the point of the story, there will be nonstop action, and _plenty _of cliffhangers, because I know you guys love those things.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. It belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

**Warning: violent language**

"Listen closely, Takuma. I want you to understand something, "Ali began, and the blonde resisted rolling his eyes as best he could to listen. "I want you to keep that pureblood occupied, and if that means getting a good fuck or two out of your systems to calm him, do it." Takuma looked down. "Yes, Miss Alice," he said, and Ali gave him a sarcastic glare before she unlocked the glass fence that would be the door to Senri's room. Takuma slipped inside, and Senri almost didn't go crazy.

Zero watched as the two got reacquainted, and couldn't help but feel a small tug at his chest as the two just sat together, foreheads pressed in almost complete concentration on just enjoying each other. "When's...when's the last time you two saw each other..?" Zero dared to ask, and to his absolute and astonishing surprise, Senri answered. "None of your goddamned business, peasant. Do you mind?"

"Actually, Senri, I have some questions for you and...Ichijou, "Zero said, deciding to use the blonde's surname in an attempt to take some of the heat off.

Senri didn't quite flow too well with it. "Look, I have a file. Whatever questions you have can be answered there."

"What if I have questions that file can't answer?"

"Well then you're shit outta luck, aren't you, hunter?"

"I'm going to be a student here. Do you know what that means? That means I'm going to be here. A lot. And you'll be seeing me. A lot. I could make this a pleasurable experience for you and your lover, or you can learn to love from afar. I believe some of our younger vampires are using their hands."

"You're impudent. I cannot believe this. You come in here, blast me, and expect me to fall for your trickery like my ignorant brother? Don't make me laugh."

"Senri, please-"

"What do you want to know, peasant?"

"How you came to be born, your history, why you-"

"That's easy. My father, Rido Kuran, raped my mother, his sister Juuri. She had me, and of course; that bastard knew he'd need a good vessel to hold all his power, so he resorted to incest. I was denied a family, disowned, and torn from the only siblings I'd ever have: an older brother and a younger sister. My parents are dead, along with my sister, and my brother hates me."

"Your brother is-"

"Yes. Kaname Kuran.

* * *

"It's not something I can ignore, sensei; I'm going to see him every time I go to Kaname's cell."

"So take a different route."

"There are only certain areas Ali's letting me through right now. Everything else is off-limits."

"Alright, then who cares what happens with the bratty kid? The worse that could possibly happen is he throws some slurs at you. I've seen you handle worse."

"Yeah, but, I feel bad for him...all he wants is that other vampire, and if they're together, I don't see the problem."

"Alice separated them for a reason. Don't question her decisions. Just go with it, okay, kiddo?"

"I guess. I just...wish there was something I could do. I mean...they ARE vampires...kinda like me..but..."

"This is different. Trust me, Alice went through a lot with this, and she had to struggle to get the Association to trust ex-humans could show a form of separation and restraint from the more thick-blooded vampires."

"How does she manage not to go insane though..?"

"She's probably used to dealing with their kind all the time. Look, I gotta go. I'll talk to you later." Yagari hung up and Zero couldn't find the words to express anything anymore. 'Their kind..? But...I'm their kind...'

To take a bit of pressure off, Zero decided to go for a walk, and surprisingly, found himself walking to Kaname's cell. He shrugged to himself and continued walking, watching some of the sleeping vampires or ones pretending to sleep. Then he found Senri, just a few cells before Kaname's. The pureblood was curled up on his bed, his back to Zero, with an old, faded-looking panda in his arms. Zero typed in the code Alice taught him for Kaname's cell, hoping it was the same, and to his surprise, the cell glass wall dissipated into thin air. Senri turned to confront whom had walked in his cell, and when he saw Zero, he scowled.

"Are you stupid? What're you doing here alone?" He asked, and Zero shrugged. "Just thought you might like some company for once," he said. Senri scoffed and lay on his back. "Alright," he said, "what do you want? Is this one of those cliché moments where you give me some bullshit, heartfelt speech and I'm supposed to open up and tell you some sob story background? Here, let me go first." He sat up. "I have two words," he began, "fuck. Off."

Zero sighed. "Senri, I'm not meaning to have an intervention. I just...I saw the panda. I wanted to ask if you wanted me to repair it for you. Looks like the poor guy has been through hell, and I would be more than happy to-"

"Look. You're here for one reason and one reason only. We all know what you want. Quit beating around the bush. Every vampire you meet and greet here will not like you, and it's firstly because you're a vampire and you're not going through the same hell as us, second, you're a hunter, and third, you're the lowest level of vampire before insanity. So quit trying to get us to like you. It's not going to happen."

Senri turned his back to Zero again and Zero sighed. "Senri, I'm here because I believe if you wanted to hurt me, you would've done it during our confrontation earlier, regardless if Ichijou was there or not. I could be like everybody else and not give a shit what happens to you, but, I'm not...and maybe it's because of Kaname, I don't know that for sure. I do know that something led me here. Call it intuition, destiny, fate, a ghost-"

"Your feet."

"Smartass. Whatever it was, I'm glad I'm here, because you look like you could use someone to talk to. Whether or not you like me, I'm here, if you need me, I can help. I'm not going through your file. I want to hear it from the person who experienced it. Then I get to hear the truth."

"The panda was my sister's."


	9. Chapter 9-Wasteland

**A/N: I am so done writing notes for myself here and there. It is _exhausting._ So instead, I've printed a handy dandy calendar that I am going to use more often to help regulate my schedule. Unfortunately, priorities need to be set, and working and errands come first. After this, I have a few other things to do, including promote an artist on PaigeeWorld. Yeah, so if you want to check out my art, go find me kaiwai. I have a bunch of drawings there that'll be worth a look-see. I will be posting some of my older art too.**

**I apologize because these chapters are getting a bit shorter, but I promise, they'll get longer here soon enough. I just gotta get everything out of the way for now. Things will start to make sense and in the twelfth chapter-well, that's a spoiler.**

**Anyway! That is not why y'all are favoriting and following this story! You're doing it for the good stuff. I'll tell you all what-for those following, I'm gonna post an extra couple chapters to sate y'all and your crazy obsession with this story. I really don't see how/why you all love it so much, but I shouldn't complain. **

**I was reading through some of the reviews and the previous chapters, and I realized the whole point of this story hadn't been written yet! So I looked through my phone to check how far along I was, and I have written up to chapter 12! Whoo! So enjoy!**

**On one last note, I am holding auditions for members of Syndeo. I need twin elite soldiers, and I also need one elite ex-human. If y'all are interested in sending me profiles, PM me, and we'll talk business. So you could end up in my story; who knows? -Note: please no Gary Stus/Mary Sues. Must PM me within 76 hours of this posting from Thurs, July 16, 12:00pm PTZ(UTC-08:00(California; U.S.)) to Sun, July 19, 12:00pm PTZ(UTC-08:00(California; U.S.)). Must include in PM: Name, Age, birth, likes, dislikes, weapon(s) of choice, description, and bio(also include anything else seemingly necessary(i.e pet(s), etc)) and a quick sentence or two on why you think I should take your character.-**

**Oh, and I almost forgot. There's one more thing-the twins are insane, and are pets of Syndeo that hunt down whatever Syndeo needs them to. Have fun!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight, it belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

Zero turned onto his side, growling and mumbling softly in his sleep, the satin red sheets creasing in shift in movement.

_There was a light coming from one of the windows in his room, but that wasn't where his focus was._

_His focus was on what he was feeling, and it was strange; like feeling warm and fulfilled, but still missing something. He looked over at his hand, and there was a diamond-encrusted band on his finger, mocking him a bit. How old was he? Since when was he married? _

_The scene changed; he was on a mission in some abandoned hospital. There was that light again, from down the hall, and as he got closer, it got hot. Suffocatingly hot. He couldn't breathe. His throat and lungs burned. He felt pinches, all over his body and all at once, but he stumbled on, when the burning in his throat got so bad that he collapsed, choking on the soot in his throat._

He grasped the sheets in slight panic, before he relaxed again, waking up.

It took him a moment to register his senses all together without completely scrambling them. That's when he realized he wasn't in any room or bed he'd recognized.

The scent was rosey. It filled his senses with an incredible tangy rose smell that was exotic, yet at the same time comforting, but there was something else he was starting to register over the rose scent as well.

Blood. Lots of it.

Zero shot up in bed and felt something brush against his cool skin, slipping with the movement of his sudden jolt. He looked down to realize he hadn't been wearing any clothes he'd come in. His collar was grazing his neck, making it itch slightly. The rest of the unnecessarily warm, silky jacket was laid over his chest and stomach, perfectly curving with his body, and ending at the front just above his hip line. There were twelve golden clips holding the jacket shut that were lined perfectly down to the end of the light blue-grey material, right where it met with the matching gold trim of the jacket.

His pants were crisp white, hugging his legs almost like skinny jeans, but a little more loose and a lot more silky and comfortable. They were rolled up a bit at the ankles, he could feel it, but couldn't see much, since up to the bottom edge of his kneecaps was hidden by deep ebony boots, with golden clips starting from the folded over cloth of the boots down to the start of the material, like something out of a civil war movie.

Zero threw back the sheets and scrambled to his feet, trying to gather himself before realizing something had yanked his wrist, making him meet some resistance.

Zero turned to see his left wrist had been handcuffed to a groaning form that had curled further under the sheets and Zero froze, reaching instinctively for Bloody Rose. To his surprise, she was still there, clipped to his belt, as he had left her. To even more of his surprise, the form that was handcuffed to him was the pureblood that had nearly ripped him apart just the day before.

Kaname whimpered softly as he felt a light shift in the weight of the bed, and groaned when he felt something cold and hard pulling at his wrist. The pureblood looked over his shoulder and realized what he was actually wearing, wary that Zero'd been similarly dressed, save for the colors of the pureblood's clothes which consisted mostly of ebony and gold.

Zero started when he realized the form was Kaname, and he sighed softly in slight relief, both vampires' gazes locking for a moment.

Kaname finally turned away and got up on Zero's side of the bed, dragging the ex-human to his feet along with the pureblood. "I'm sorry, Zero..." Kaname's soft, almost broken voice made the hunter jump to his feet beside the other vampire and attempt to ignore that anything was amiss, despite his growing delusions and anticipation.

"What for? You didn't do anything. Now let's get moving and get out of here before somebody decides a sneak attack," Zero said through a forced smile, and led the pureblood to the door, but as soon as Zero turned the handle, there was a blaze of heat that crossed and singed his entire palm.

Zero jerked his hand back, crying out softly. Kaname looked oddly at the door, as if studying the doorknob. He slowly reached for the door and when he grabbed the knob, the heat pouring from it burned into his hand, burning the flesh until it burned off and new flesh grew over it.

Zero grabbed Kaname's wrist, trying to yank him away, but the pureblood didn't move. Instead, he pushed open the door, peering into the dark room where flames flickered brightly on one side of the room, and ice careened on the other.

* * *

**I didn't want to put it up there in the author's note because that note is already long enough, and on top of that, this is a spoiler. I realized that they hadn't been kidnapped yet, and before any of you get curious if it's Alice, I think I made it pretty obvious(if you haven't read my authors' notes you won't understand; that's why they're so impudent) who the kidnapper is.**


	10. Chapter 10-Sober

**A/N: Oh dear cherry bombs this chapter is short. Unfortunately, there is no other way to make it longer, so fortunately, I will be here to explain more. Please be patient with me on this. I promise there's a method to my madness. **

* * *

Kain stumbled back a bit as the door flew open, pushing him back into his cousin. Aidou flinched and flicked ice at his darker blonde cousin, backing further into the corner.

Zero and Kaname burst into the room, Bloody Rose up at the two in Zero's hand. All four men froze.

Zero dropped Bloody Rose back in his belt, and Kaname stepped out from behind Zero to face the other two vampires, whom he noticed were similarly dressed to him and Zero.

"Kain, " Kaname began, "have you and Aidou been here long?"

"I don't know, " Kain replied. "It's hard to tell time. We've been awake for a while though."

Kaname's eyes fell on Aidou. "Tell me, Hanabusa," he said slowly, "where are we?"

Aidou looked up at Kaname and forced back a whimper. "I-I...I think...t-they've found us..." He said, and Kaname grit his teeth.

"They?" Zero asked, "who's 'they'?"

"Syndeo."

* * *

**Some of you are sitting there wondering, 'dear me, who is Syndeo?' Y'all would know if you read my notes. You'll also find out in the next few chapters.**


	11. Chapter 11-Radioactive

**A/N: So I am starving and I don't have much time to explain this without giving away a bunch of spoilers. Some of you will be happy, some disappointed in me. I know, I know, it sucks. Unfortunately, there's not much I can do about it, but the updates are going to come slower and slower and slower. I am currently writing the twelfth chapter, and hopefully, I can get that up and running soon. Should be fun, so get excited!**

**So, a few things to cover:**

**First: yes, Alice ate her security guards. They were getting on her nerves. Stupid cops.**

**Second: yes, Syndeo are the ex-human hunter kidnappers.**

**Third: yes, Kyo is the son of one-ah, that's a spoiler.**

**enjoy~**

**disclaimer: I do not own VK. It belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

Alice flew down the stairs, her anger evident by the dent marks in the metal railing she'd left every other step down. Her assistant trailed behind her, hurriedly scribbling some nonsense on paper.

"Syndeo is going to pay for this!" She raged, and tore part of the railing off for good measure. "I just know they are behind this! How dare they meddle in _my_ affairs! How did they get past security!? Past my purebloods!? Past me!?"

"T-to be fair, m'am, you are a pretty heavy sleeper. You also douse the purebloods' food with heavy anesthetics. It is possible they could've easily snuck past once everyone was passed out."

"What about my security guards!?"

"Y-you a-ate them all, m-m'am."

"Oh...right. Disgusting vultures. Which reminds me, when's lunch?"

"P-please, m'am.."

"You're right. We need to focus. I have a friend that can help us. Since they kidnapped Zero as well, we'll make him our top priority rescue. No matter what, we need him back. Alive. The Association will have my ass if not; he's the rescue Providence needs. Him being here and starting the tutoring program is critical to the survival of the leftover ex-humans and the survival of Providence. Syndeo knows that, which means they took him for a reason and want him, but why would they take-" she froze suddenly, realizing the intentions of the powerful vampire abductors.

* * *

There was a faint clicking sound coming from somewhere in the back, and it was really starting to bother the hunters. Kyo looked back at the annoyed group anxiously; it was hard without Zero. Even though the ex-human was always rude with him, he still tried to be patient with the young elite. All these guys ever did was just throw things at him or shout Nazi-related slurs at him for being German. Wasn't his fault his mother was from Germany; they'd still tease him that the only reason he had this position was because his mother was a pilot.

Kyo had thought a couple times about becoming an ex-human hunter just so he could go do things with Zero; fun things. It would be harder on him because he knew he would be teased for not belonging anywhere, but he felt that Zero might accept him a little more if they were able to get closer in that sense, it wouldn't matter, because Zero would be enough for him.

Kyo stopped off at an inn nearby to let the other hunters off. There were some groans, protests, and some laughter as Kyo stepped out of the GL, locking it with the signature Mercedes click. The other hunters went inside, leaving Kyo alone in the dark to finish up.

Kyo sighed softly to himself, when his senses suddenly screamed 'danger', but when he looked around, he saw no threat. Kyo pulled his gun out and looked around the car, trying to keep calm when a voice addressed him. "There's no need for that, hunter," the voice said, and Kyo whirled around to face a dark figure that seemed yards away. Still, clear as day and if the figure was standing right beside him, he heard that voice again. "You want acceptance. I get it. And if you want to know where Zero is hiding, I can tell you," it said, and dropped a book on the floor in front of it. "Think about it," it said, and vanished with the wind.

Kyo, still sensing a threat, held his gun up, slowly advancing to the book. He snatched it up and bolted back to the car, flipping on a nearby flashlight so he could read. Kyo's eyes widened, and he quickly started the Benz before racing out of the parking lot with a screech of burning rubber.

* * *

**If any of you know what Neon Gensis is, you'll have caught who Kyo's mother is. That is (not) a coincidence;)**


	12. Chapter 12-Prayer of a Refugee

**A/N: Okay, I know it's bad that I haven't updated in a while. But I'm almost 18 and my parents are bugging me to get a job, and I got school on the way, plus I have to figure out a way to start paying for the car I just-heh, well, you don't care about all that. I want to personally thank everyone who has been following, favoriting, or reviewing this story. Your support is what keeps me going:3 Now, this chapter is hopefully long enough to satisfy you all.**

**I understand there's a lotta breaks. But there's a lot of time lapses, so please bear with me.**

**The character tryouts are still going on. I will bring in some details about Syndeo in the extremely late chapters, so y'all have a while. Remember: **** I need twin elite soldiers, and I also need one elite ex-human. If y'all are interested in sending me profiles, PM me, and we'll talk business. So you could end up in my story; who knows? -Note: please no Gary Stus/Mary Sues. Must PM me within 76 hours of this posting from Sun, July 26, 12:00pm PTZ(UTC-08:00(California; U.S.)) to Wed, July 29, 12:00pm PTZ(UTC-08:00(California; U.S.)). Must include in PM: Name, Age, birth, likes, dislikes, weapon(s) of choice, description, and bio(also include anything else seemingly necessary(i.e pet(s), etc)) and a quick sentence or two on why you think I should take your character.-**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Knight. It belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

"So Syndeo is responsible for this..?" Zero asked, and Kaname sighed. "I believe so," he replied, "I don't think Alice was behind this."

"This is what we get, " Senri whimpered, "this is what we get for interacting emotionally..." Takuma kneeled beside the redhead pulling him close as Rima joined; and Kaname thought aloud. "I understand why they obviously want Zero, but they took the rest of us for a reason..." Kaname sat in the corner quietly, when it hit him.

* * *

_"Listen, I don't just want this war over with, I want all the vampires and humans to leave in PIECES!" A young Senri exclaimed, and a slightly older Kaname laughed. "It's _peace, _Senri. Live in peace."_

_"Then why did that guy on the show we watched say 'we come in pieces'?"_

_"That's because it's a sitcom."_

_"Oh. What's a sitcom?"_

_"It's a comedy show in which there's a situation the character or characters must resolve. Sitcoms have a point, but usually don't have a moral."_

_"Oh. What's a moral?"_

_Just as Kaname is about to explain, their mother hurries in the room, trying to keep from ensuing panic among the boys as she takes their hands and leads them out of the mansion. "We're gonna go on a sort of a vacation for a while," she explains, and though he remains quiet, Kaname doesn't buy what she's saying. "What about the baby?" Senri asks, gesturing to their mother's swollen stomach. She stops them, and kneels in front of Senri, trying to compose a reassuring smile for him. "The baby will be fine. Everything's going to be fine."_

* * *

_"I want an answer, Haruka, please, I don't have anything else to present to the Association!" Alice cried out, and Haruka bit his lower lip in concentration. "Let me think," he replies, earning a dragged-out whine from Alice. "I don't have time for that! There are a thousand guards that are going to show up at your doors for your wife and boys any second and I need to know-"_

_"I know someone. He lives a couple miles down from us. He's not a vampire, so if we drag him into this, I need to know you can guarantee his safety."_

* * *

_"It's not exactly sound or scent-proof, or even baby-proof, but it should handle the job," a man says, voice dripping with an almost heavy Irish accent. Juuri leads her children down into the comfortable basement as Haruka stands with the man. "Thank you, Scotty, we really appreciate this. Are you sure there isn't anything we can-"_

_"Nonsense! I'm all about favors and reasoning. Just get down there and stay safe. I'll be down after the heat is gone to check on the lot of you." In a flash, Haruka disappeared down the basement, and Alice helped the man named Scotty close the door. "You really think this is going to work?" Alice asks, and Scotty sighed, "no, but it'll have to. I'd give my life for them. Haruka is my only friend. My closest friend."_

* * *

"They don't just want Zero killed. They want it to be a bloody massacre. Two manipulative purebloods, five loyal aristocrats, and one ex-human snack. They're sending a message to the Association; a message that'll make it obvious that Zero isn't a threat; the vampires are. If ever given the chance to be free, they'll stop at nothing. It doesn't matter; and it's worse if Zero's developed an emotional connection with the purebloods because not only will it look bad on us, but on everyone, especially the Association. If they don't get shut down first, we will, and we're going down HARD," Kaname said, and the room grew dead silent.

Zero finally spoke up. "If that's what they want, then that's what we can't give them. We have to get out of her. Fast."


	13. Chapter 13-Numb

**A/N: I'm baaaaaaack! Yay! Okay. So I've noticed I've gotten quite a bit of followers and favorites on this book recently! Thanks so much for that guys! So, yeah, Alice gets a little soft in this chapter, but she is really close with the vampires, so she kinda has an excuse. I guess there's also a bit of curiosity in Alice's age, and to be all and fair, she is REALLY old. Like, REALLY old. Old enough that her dad was one of the first senates on the Hunter's Association board. She's known Haruka, Juuri and Rido since they were kids, too, so she's basically old enough to be your grandma's great grandma.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VK. It belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

"It feels like we've been walking for miles. How big could this place possibly be?" Senri whined, and was only silenced by Ichijou's gentle touch. Zero sighed, "we have to find some sort of servant's tunnel. So we keep going deeper until we do. Of course, there's most likely going to be some rodents and insects, so if anybody disapproves, I suggest you brace yourselves."

Ruka shuddered. Where there were rodents and insects, there were definitely snakes.

Rima frowned when she realized she had something semi-heavy in her pocket and she pulled it out.

"Oh my god!"

* * *

Kyo brought the GL to a screeching halt, easily missing hitting the gates by half an inch. There it was. The building that haunted his nightmares for years. The building he lived in as an orphaned child.

Kyo took the book with him to use as a resource; along with anti vampire weapons, hunter sedatives, a flashlight, water, and a first aid kit.

He trudged over the gate and up the steps to the double glass doors. He bit his lip. Was he really ready to face whatever was inside?

Kyo reached for the door handle, when a gloved hand rested its palm on his shoulder.

* * *

Alice sat crying softly to herself in her closet. She had been so close to finally building a useful program for the Hunter's Association, and now, thanks to Syndeo, that wasn't going to happen. She kicked the wall. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Of all the things, all the people, all the times, why now!? Hadn't her life already been ruined enough when she became a bloodsucker? Or..was it from the moment she was born that she was destined to fail?

"Alice, " a voice called, and Alice froze. She knew that voice. It was long and dead, but she knew. She looked up, but didn't hear or see anything anymore, or so she thought.

Alice stood up and walked to her window, where the top bar had been re-nailed shut.

Somebody had been in her bedroom.

And it didn't look as if that someone had left yet.

* * *

Zero turned to face Rima, as the other vampires, in time to watch her kiss the device repeatedly. Even for being locked up as long as they had, all the vampires in the corridor knew EXACTLY what this device was.

Zero raised an eyebrow, "I think that cell is bugged. Why would they leave you will a cellphone, Rie?"

"This isn't any cellphone, either, it's the same one Ali has. iPhone, I think?" Kain said, and Rima held it up curiously.

Senri poked Ichijou's pocket; he pulled out an iPhone like Rima's as well.

Kaname frowned. He checked his pockets, and as expected, pulled out the apple device.

The other two nobles and both purebloods pulled out the same phones, and Zero shook his head rapidly. "This doesn't make sense."

"Why?" Kaname asked, and Zero pulled out his Bloody Rose, making the others freeze and shift uncomfortably. "I have this," he said, "if you guys are supposed to tear me to shreds, why do I have this-" he emptied the clip which contained eight bullets, "-with exactly enough bullets to kill everyone here?"

Kaname slowly walked towards Zero, but the hunter put his gun away without needing to be asked. "I can't kill you. Not unless you attack me, and even then, with two purebloods, I don't care how much training I have or how strong I am, I won't survive, " he said, and Senri rolled his eyes. "We have to worry more about you, I think. When's the last time you had a drink, Zero?" He asked, and Zero looked down. Senri scoffed, "that's what I thought." Kaname bit his lip, "well, there's no blood to better sate a psychologically disturbed vampire than a Kuran's blood, right? Zero, come here."

The vampires all began to protest, voices overlapping each others', including Zero, but Kaname wouldn't have it. "Quiet. Do you want to kill the kid and give Syndeo exactly what they want? A bloodbath? Because that's what's going to happen. They were expecting exactly this. So be quiet and stay here. Zero and I will find a room far away enough to keep you all under control, "he said, and the vampires grew quiet, staring at the floor. All except Senri. "There's two of us, Kaname, " he said, "or did you forget I exist like you always do? I may be Rido's bastard child, but that doesn't mean we're not blood. We're brothers, Kaname; I deserve more credit than this. And you know I'm the stronger of us."

"I also know you're the more mentally unstable of us, " Kaname retorted, "so as your elder, I'm telling you to back off, BROTHER."

"You're a fucking prick and if that hunter rapes and kills you, it wouldn't be karma enough."

"Senri," Takuma began, trying to catch the other's attention.

"Don't even start with me about your maturity bullshit either, Kaname. I'm not the one who got Yuuki killed. That was your fault. You let Alice take her instead of you because you're a pompous, selfish ass that needs to die-!"

Kaname flinched. "Glad I finally know how you feel," he said, and led Zero deeper down the steps of the corridor as the others stood in awkward silence.


	14. Chapter 14-Alive

**A/N: okay children, I understand it's been a _really_ long time since I updated, but I'm here now, and to make up for being so terrible at updating lately, I am posting two chapters. So instead of just 14, you get 14 and 15. Yay. Yeah, anyway, so the reason I have not been able to post is because at first I had lost everything I wanted to do and felt completely lost, which made me want to discontinue this story as well as my other. But one night I had a dream where Zero was with me, and we were at my new college's cafe, and we talked about some really really odd stuff...0.0**

**But then he asked me about the book about he and Kaname, and I was like ehhhh I stopped writing it..so long story short, Dream Zero convinced me not only to continue the story, but he have me some rather _graphic_ ideas for a few subplots...**

**Moving on. I do not own VK; that's Matsuri Hino's. Alice is mine, Kyo is mine, and uh, the mansion and plot and such belong to my subconscious mind and it's weird expression of itself through my dreams...**

* * *

"Ow, easy!" Zero protested. After he had taken some of Kaname's blood, the pureblood had done the same to him, only on Zero's insistency and the agreement of the pureblood's saliva not coming in contact with the hunter's skin. But Zero wanted to make sure Kaname would be strong enough to regain at least some of his powers back in case they needed him. Of course, from all the hunter drugs, the vampires' abilities were all drained in their potential to a considerable amount, and for safety reasons. But now, Kaname and Zero had finished, and because of his hatred for spiders, Kaname made Zero lead the way back to the others.

Problem was, Zero had no idea which way he was going, because Kaname just kept shoving him forward the more he thought he saw 'another spider out to get him'.

"Ow! Kana, calm down! Okay, okay, stop, just stop! We're lost, " Zero finally admitted, and Kaname was not wild with the idea. "You're joking right? You didn't see-"

"No because you have my flashlight and I can't see anything so wherever we came from, this is where we ended up!"

"Well, let's go back and reassess the situation. Maybe we'll find the way we came."

"Okay, yeah."

As karma would have it, about two minutes into their walk back, they reached a hall with a series of split corridors.

"Don't you have superhuman smell?" Kaname asked. Zero gave him a look of sarcasm. "Don't you?"

"I'm on drugs."

"Won't be the last time I hear that outta your mouth."

"Hey, do you wanna get smart with me, or do you want to pick up our scents to follow the right hall?"

Zero groaned softly in protest before sniffing around carefully to try to pick up their scents.

But suddenly, he didn't need to.

He didn't need to, because he saw someone running down the corridor they'd passed in; and this someone's body; he could see through to the end of the corridor.

* * *

Alice trembled lightly as she drove with the skill of a professional stunt driver, steering the Challenger towards the building that Kyo had described. Behind her, Yagari was driving the GL, but not trying to do it with the skill Alice was exhibiting; he hadn't the vampire reflexes to control the car like she did.

Alice slammed on the clutch as she shifted into fifth gear, glancing over at Kyo in the passenger seat. "There's the motel the elites were staying. That means the building is up there, " he said, pointing down the road. Alice shifted into fourth gear and kept a steady speed so she could use her now free hand to pet the young, nervous hunter. "You okay?" She asked, glancing occasionally at him.

"Yeah," he responded, "I'm fine. Just nervous. Zero is the only hunter that..he's my only friend, even if he doesn't exactly consider me the same. All the other hunters just...use me. It's like, i might as well be an ex-human like Zero..maybe that's why he's nice to me. Because he understands...and if a-anything happens to him..."

"No. Nothing's going to happen to him. I know it. Kaname will protect Zero with his life. I told him never to let anything happen to Zero because of how valuable that boy is to us. He'll protect Zero. He'll protect him with his life, or I'll have Kaname's."

* * *

**So anybody have any idea about how the doc manager duration works? It'll delete the docs after 90 days, but does that affect my stories..? Does it delete the chapters? **

**Yeah. Also, if you didn't guess it a few chapters back, Kyo's mother is none other than Asuka Langley Soryu, which makes him Kyo Langley Soryu, just don't ask me who the father is cause if you've all seen the episode where Shinji does something...not appropriate over Asuka's comatose body, you'll know who the father is anyway, or at least have a good idea of it.**


	15. Chapter 15-Somewhere to Run

**A/N: I just found out I have been listening to a song about playing videogames...oh Basshunter...**

**Anyway, after seeing how short this chapter is, I have decided to update yet another chapter just to be nice:) **

**Not much left to say, except I feel like I should share with you all the fact that my laptop is getting fixed the day after tomorrow, so until it is fixed, I might not be able to get another update for a while. Maybe. We'll see how things go and if I decide whether or not to drop my math class...I'm considering staying cause of the cute girl in that class...not sure if fractions is worth it yet...**

**Moving on. I do not own VK, it belongs to Matsuri Hino:)**

* * *

Zero bolted down the hall after the see-through figure; Kaname breaking into a run behind him. "Wait a minute, Zero!" He called, "I can't run as fast as you can!

Zero didn't listen, continuing to run towards the figure. At the end of the hall, there was a light, and Zero collided with something tall, heavy and warm. Kaname stopped just in time to catch himself before he tripped over what appeared to be two of Zero on the floor. Now he was REALLY losing it. "Ow..shit...Ichiru!?" Zero sat up in surprise, looking at his inverted twin who appeared to momentarily have the balance of a walrus with vertigo.

Ichiru looked up at Zero. "Brother? Oh...what're you doing here?" Ichiru asked, and the twins used each other's balance to get back up on their feet.

"Mm, nothing. Just hanging out, " Zero grinned, preferring not to bring up the shadow figure he saw, especially considering the figure was definitely female. "You should be careful. I hear there's weird stuff going on," Ichiru said with a changed expression. He seemed almost as if he was concentrating, but also mourning something he lost.

"What kind of weird stuff?" Kaname asked, since Zero obviously wasn't going to.

"The kind to make you wonder where every person that ever went missing in Providence went," he replied, and Zero frowned. Alice hadn't mentioned anything about Providence being populated with ex-humans, and neither had Kaname, who he figured might've been too young to remember.

"That's impossible. Alice and Zero are the only ex-humans to ever be aware of Providence. Even the board members of the Association have everything hush-hush, " Kaname explained. Okay, maybe the pureblood WASN'T too young to remember.

"You would think so, but how do you think Syndeo became recognized for kidnapping ex-humans? By picking them up off the streets?" Ichiru said, "whether or not you're aware of it, Alice has been keeping a terrible secret from you: all her servants have always been ex-humans. She's been killing her own kind for years."

That thought hit Zero a little hard. He understood very much what it felt like to kill your own kind, and it wasn't pleasant. But Alice able to do it without batting an eye? Could that mean she's tied in with Syndeo?

"Ironically," Ichiru continued, "the leader of Syndeo is a vampire. Pureblood."

"Which explains the kidnappings, " Zero added, and Kaname nodded, "of course. But all the purebloods were captured and most were killed during the war." "Unless they bred and raised a pureblood within captivity to do as they please," Zero said, "so that the Association could get rid of ex-humans altogether." "We need to get out of here," Kaname said lowly, "now. If there's another pureblood here...and they're not under hunter drugs...it could do whatever it likes, and Senri and I combined couldn't fight it."

Zero smirked. "No. You couldn't. Not unless you both received blood and were at your full strength."


	16. Chapter 16-Dear Insanity

Zero, Kaname and Ichiru walked up the never-ending stairs to the north tower. Zero leading the way with his flashlight, Ichiru followed at the end, and as the younger twin expected, something happened and he wasn't involved.

The floor caved in underneath Zero's feet, making a wide enough hole in the ground to take Kaname down with him. Ichiru smirked, and with a silent salute to his brother, turned to take his leave.

Zero groaned audibly as he finally landed on a pile of bricks, Kaname landing next to him with a swift curse. Zero sat up, rubbing his back tenderly. "I think I'm good. Sore, aches, hurts, but otherwise, I'm good. You?"

Kaname tried to use his hands to sit himself up, but his left wrist hurt sorely. "Just a bad wrist. I think I sprained it. If I set it, it'll be okay."

Zero stood and examined himself to make sure he could really walk and stand properly. Other than a few splinters from the wood plank he hit as he fell, he really wasn't in bad shape considering they both fell a good forty feet down.

WHERE exactly they ended up was a different question. It was odd enough that there was a wooden plank in the middle of the ceiling; now they have no idea where they are or how to get back. Kaname rested a hand on the hunter's shoulder to let him aware of the other's presence. Shock quickly registered in the pureblood's senses, however, when he realized what they were standing on. Kaname pushed Zero protectively behind him, backing away from the marks on the ground. Slowly, the candles surrounding the marks in small circles lit, group by group to create one large circle around a black form on the ground. Kaname extended his claws and bared his fangs, ready to fight as this creature rose, vertebrae by vertebrae. Realizing what it was and not wanting to terrify Zero, Kaname retracted his claws on his right hand so he could cover Zero's eyes.

Zero watched the candles light with horror, and the lump form in front of him finally screamed in his senses. Kaname's arm pulled him close, hand covering the hunter's eyes. Zero felt a bit childish, but let him, as he figured it was probably better to let Kaname fight and save his bullets lest he need them./div

Kaname growled lowly, warningly at first, then again to display his territory limits. The creature let out a shriek in response, and Kaname knew exactly what it was then.

They had just awoken a very old, very dangerous, and very angry pureblood vampire that didn't care whether it looked human or not. Oops.


	17. Chapter 17-Fake It

**A/N: I know this chapter is painfully short, but bear with me, there are two more on the way.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VK. Matsuri Hino does.**

* * *

"Run."

The command was clear, and Zero didn't need to be told twice. With almost vampire speed, Zero bolted, not daring to look back. Kaname followed quickly after, and miraculously, they found steps to a tower. Zero bolted up the thick, tall steps, skipping one at a time. His thighs started to burn and he could feel a piercing pain through his calves, but he could also feel Kaname quite literally at his heels and knew if he slowed down he'd risk certain death for the pureblood. Plus that creature scared the living daylights outta him and there was no way the hunter was going to give that thing a chance to catch him.

"Hey, Kana, this might be a bad time, but I saw someone down that hall earlier?"

"Oh? Can it wait until we're not being chased by a bloodthirsty pureblood?"

"Uhhhh..not really...you see, I think the someone was Yuuki..."

Kaname froze. All reason and logic was telling him to run, but he couldn't will himself to move. Yuuki...how long has it been since Kaname'd last seen his baby sister?

* * *

_"Up!" A baby Yuuki reached for her brother, arms stretched to the sky. "Up! Up!"_

_Kaname finally lifted the toddler, holding her close. "Did you have fun, Yuuki? Alice isn't all bad, is she?" Yuuki simply giggled shaking her head rapidly and Kaname smiled, pulling up a façade to mask the suddenly incredibly intense burning sensation on his left leg and up his thigh..._

* * *

"Kaname!" Zero screamed as the creature tore out a good chunk of Kaname's leg, but didn't much phase the pureblood. Kaname didn't even look to be in pain. But if he stood there like an idiot, he wouldn't have to suffer pain because he'd be dead.

Zero finally decided to use Bloody Rose. He didn't have a choice. They were gonna die.

With two swift gunshots to the head and heart, the creature let out a terrible shriek and collapsed, buying them time to run away. Zero grabbed Kaname's wrist and slapped him to pull him out of his trance before dragging the pureblood up the rest of the stairs and away from the shrieking and roaring creature. But what Zero didn't see; the creature wasn't even phased by the gunshots. For a pureblood that had gone crazy with starvation; which took a lot for a pureblood especially; it should be incredibly weak, and therefore instantly dusted by the gunshots. But having been fed ex-human hunters often and by the dozen, this thing was plenty strong to bounce back from the gunshots and race after Kaname and Zero, following its' fellow pureblood's scent.


	18. Chapter 18-Outside

**A/N: So I will start to have to update from my main computer in our gameroom to keep this going. I shall get the two latest chapters up, the finishing trio to Man or Mouse, and hopefully the second chapter to the inside edition of Seether. Actually, probably more than that, since my parents went out to dinner and I am in my favorite pajamas with rave music blasting, and my best work gets done late at night. So get excited! And please, read the inside edition of Seether. There will be a lot of clarity.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VK. Matsuri Hino does.**

**Warning: as the chapters progress, there will be disturbing/graphic scenes, and vulgar language. You have been warned.**

* * *

Kain tried to avoid throwing up as he gagged for just about the umpteenth time. He breathed slowly, hands trembling. Ruka rubbed his back in an effort to soothe him, but it was hardly working. Aidou was gagging too, but from disgust of watching Takuma and Senri having been making out for the past forty-five minutes. Rima checked the clock on her phone. Almost ten pm. "I'm going to find them," Aidou finally stood and walked off, happy that he didn't have to watch Senri and Takuma anymore.

"Me too," Rima chimed, "I can't stand to be stuck here bored and they should've been back by now."

"Maybe they simply got lost," Ruka suggested, her voice remaining soothing and gentle to relax the nearly hurling vampire under her hand.

Rima shrugged. "Anyhow, I'm going. Better than watching Fifty Shades of Kuran over here, " she said with a thumb jerk in Senri and Takuma's direction. Senri simply flipped her off.

Aidou led the group cautiously through the halls, listening carefully and ready to flick his ice at anything that dared move towards them. At the end of the hall, there was a dancing blue light, and Kain frowned, being the first to speak up. "Is that..?" He'd only ever heard of wisps according to Celtic legends, but to see one dancing in front of his eyes was almost unbelievable. Supposedly, these wisps led you to find your destiny, or whatever it was written for you, but said wisps also only roamed in the woods of Ireland.

Suddenly, what felt like a wall slammed into them, knocking the group over. Kaname groaned in pain mostly from his leg, his mask slipping a bit. Zero panted heavily from the run, and realized he was straddling Senri's waist. Zero blushed darkly, looking away. "Enjoying yourself, there?" Senri snorted sarcastically, and Zero got off. "S-sorry," he almost whispered, and helped Senri up. That's when he remembered who, or more likely, what, was chasing them.

"Go, run! We have to run!" Zero yelled, but none of the vampires moved. "What's the matter with you all!? There's something chasing us!"

"Zero, you okay?" Takuma asked, "did you hit your head?"

"No! This creature was chasing us and-" Kaname interrupted him. "-and it was just your imagination, Zero. You were seeing things. This place is old. Relax."

Zero looked at Kaname horrified. He turned and started down the hallway, leaving the group. Senri grabbed his arm to stop him. "Zero," he began, "don't do something you're going to regret. Splitting from the group is a bad idea and you know it." Zero pulled his gun out and held it to Senri's head. "Let go of me, Senri. You're a pureblood. As it stands, you have very little power over someone with more human blood in their body than any of you here. So back off," he growled, and Senri let the hunter go, raising his hands. "Kaname, get your boyfriend under control," he said cooly, earning the desired reaction from Zero and from his brother.

Kaname suddenly visibly shuddered, an unpleasant wave of nausea hitting him. It wasn't long after that Senri felt it, too. Zero lowered his gun slowly and approached Kaname, who seemed like he was having an extremely hard time keeping down whatever was in his system right now.

Zero set a comforting hand on his back, rubbing in slow circles to calm Kaname's gagging. The others noticed it in the air; the aura of another pureblood. But it didn't make them nauseas. It gave them headaches strong enough to nearly knock them out.

Ichijou adjusted uncomfortably against Senri, trying to hide in him and will the headache away.

"Guess you were right," Kain said quietly, "about the pureblood part."

"It seems to be well-fed, but it appears as if it hasn't seen blood or flesh in millennia," Kaname breathed.

"And it's fucking fast, too," Zero added with a click of his tongue.

Senri frowned. "Kaname..." He began, but didn't get a chance to finish.

Rima and Ruka collapsed.


	19. Chapter 19-Pacifica

**A/N: You guys keep up the reviews and such! It's what's keeping me and this story alive and well. It really helps a lot, and I love reading everything you guys have to say. **

**In other news, I am listening to rave music and just drank the equivalent of five cups of coffee in soda, so...I will guarantee I will be up fr several more hours. Hopefully I will be able to update a few more things and get more things going steadily. I mean, I have nearly twenty chapters to this book already, and only one chapter to the inside edition. Plus, if she will let me, I am trying to adopt a story from a fellow writer; actually two stories from her, and I am anxious to read her other stuff and chase it. Her updates come painfully slow, so I understand the pain here. I really do. I also understand parents' impatience when trying to adopt a child; or multiple children. I _really_ want to adopt those books! Wish me luck!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VK. Belongs to Hino.**

**Warning: as the story progresses, there will be violence and language. You have been warned.**

* * *

"Are you sure this is it, Kyo?" Alice asked, and Kyo nodded. "I'm sure. I used to have nightmares about this place."

Alice, Kyo and Yagari walked up to the gates, which were rusted and bent into an awkward position, making it impossible to open them and too tall and structured to climb or jump. Alice growled in frustration. Syndeo really thought everything through, didn't they?

Alice stepped back a second to look around at the location, and shock registered in her senses. This wasn't just any old mansion or castle or even grounds that just anybody picked. This was the same exact mansion that a particular group of vampires had lived in for thousands of centuries.

A very powerful, very much dying-out group of vampires.

* * *

Kaname's heart sank for half a terrible second, thinking the girls were dead. Of course the others had ran by their sides to confirm they weren't dead, and Kaname thought they probably weren't, but it was still gut-wrenching, and Kaname resisted the urge to throw up again. That's when he realized Zero was frozen by his side.

The tattoo Zero'd tried to hide under the collar of his uniform was glowing a bit and throbbing immensely, which terrified Kaname. Was...Zero feeling the same as him? But he hadn't drank directly from the boy...

* * *

_Zero groaned unwillingly in ecstasy against Kaname's neck as he drinks the sweet, heavily-desired and forbidden blood. It burned a bit from the hunter poisons and drugs, but his system quickly and easily flushed it out before it could seriously hurt him._

_Finally retracting his fangs from the pureblood's neck, Zero starts to feel shame and guilt. It only takes him a breath to offer his own blood to Kaname._

_"Listen..." He began, "you look like shit...and...it's my fault..."_

_"If you're trying to compliment me, it backfiring," Kaname mused, re-buttoning his collar._

_"No, that's not it at all. Look, uhm, you know, I...have you ever gotten to drink someone else's blood before..?"_

_"Not that I'm aware of. Alice gives us blood substitutes like she takes to keep us from dying."_

_"Would you..want to..?"_

_Kaname had practice keeping stoic faces in even the most shocking of situations, but Zero offering him his blood was definitely not only one of the most odd things he could've offered, it was one of the most awkward. Kaname assumed Zero hadn't known much about purebloods to offer._

_"Zero, I'm fine. Honestly. I am. If I truly thought I couldn't handle it, I wouldn't risk drinking from you. I'd take from my brother."_

_"Oh...I see."_

_"Oh, Zero, I didn't mean it like that. I meant it would risk forming a blood bond between us. If I drank from you now...we would be utterly fucked. It would no doubt form a blood bond, and a strong one, considering I'm of pure, thick vampire blood. Just that alone is a danger to both of us, because if one of us is killed and the bond is severed, the other will surely die. Not to mention...I'd have complete mental control over you...nobody else's blood would sate you...it would hurt us both...and you would ache. Hollowly. You can't lock yourself in my cell with me all the time like you would need to at first, and I can't leave my cell unless to appear in front of the Association. There's no way I'm gonna risk hurting you like that."_

_Zero felt utterly shocked by the pureblood's words. He was right, and made a terribly good case, but Zero didn't care. They didn't call him stubborn at HQ for nothing._

_"Then don't drink directly from me," Zero said, and Kaname raised an eyebrow. "Like..?"_

_"Yes," Zero replied, answering the other's unspoken question._

_"...tie me up first."_

_Kaname knew he'd be a danger to the ex-human otherwise, and wasn't sure if he would have the level of control he normally would had he the chance to drink real, human blood fresh from the daisy. It was a thought that made him shudder. Or maybe that was from the hunter cuffs Zero just slapped on him._

_"Okay," Zero began slowly, "now...just need to invoke the charm..." But he couldn't find himself to do it for a minute. His mind wandered to how Kaname looked when he first met the pureblood, and how much he resembled a lost, broken, beaten-down boy with his tail between his legs like a puppy getting caught at chewing up your favorite converse._

_Zero sighed, deciding he'd rather not, and slit his wrist efficiently with his hunter knife so the wound wouldn't get a chance to heal too quickly; he tried to keep down a swear at his throat as the knife pricked his thumb. He tilted his fist up, while slanting his wrist down, holding Kaname's jaw firmly with his free hand to make sure Kaname couldn't squirm too much or try to rip his throat out trying for blood._

_Kaname's eyes dilated for a split second when he smelled Zero's blood in the air, knowing hungrily what was about to happen. He forced himself to calm down and willed his fangs down so he had something to focus on other than the delicious way the hunter's net of veins throbbed in his neck..._

_Blood dripped into Kaname's mouth, and he noticed a small prick probably where the knife had poked Zero earlier. A well of blood had collected, but by then the wound had already healed, so as he finished, Kaname saw no harm in licking up the blood from his finger._

* * *

Kaname's present face turned to one of horror as he looked at Zero. He had unintentionally formed a blood bond over an un-healed cut on his finger and now, the hunter was royally screwed. Kaname didn't even care how pissed Alice might be, or how much trouble they might've caused. He'd just signed Zero's death slip.

His attention momentarily flicked back to the girls; but then why did they flip? What made them go unconscious?

Kaname's questions were answered when out of the corner of his eye, a dark blur lunged for Zero's throat.


	20. Chapter 20-Beautiful Lies

**A/N: I have some very sad news: this story is ending. There's only going to be a few more chapters before I cut it. I'm thinking about doing a prequel to explain how everything happened, because I have some very interesting ideas. I have now the freedom to pursue other stories, and I think I might post another prewritten book on here. This time, though, I'm gonna make sure it's fully prewritten before I post it. I think in the end it turns out that Senri was the-heh, that's a spoiler. **

**Okay, here ya go, kiddies~**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VK. That belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

"Zero-!" A scream registered in Zero's senses, but it didn't sound particularly familiar...or so he thought. He looked down at his hands and they were small, much smaller than he remembered; and he noticed he was a lot closer to the ground than he remembered too. Snow everywhere. And blood. Lots of blood. So much blood...

He was reliving the night his parents and brother died.

Zero closed his eyes tightly. He had had this nightmare many times before, and he knew no matter what he did to try to change what happened, he couldn't do anything and it would all happen anyway. So instead, he learned to close his eyes as tightly as he could and let it all happen. But this time, he didn't feel the stinging burn of Shizuka's fangs in his throat. This time, he heard his mother scream, then felt frozen, like he couldn't move. Senri held Zero tightly, not even so much as letting the hunter squirm with one arm as his free hand was put to go use. He trembled lightly from the rage emitting from the pureblood shade that had lunged at Zero and tried to rip the hunter's throat out. But the shade had been unsuccessful, and was frozen as if in a picture. Senri was blood-bending the creature, keeping it frozen it midair. Surprise had creeped in his features a bit, as the shade should've immediately burst as soon as Senri caught it in his blood-grip, but the creature's powerful rage was keeping Senri's invisible power from crushing the form, so instead, they had been locked together, at a stalemate.

Kaname had just frozen, and felt a flash of memories and fears that weren't his run through his mind. He assumed they were Zero's, and that's why his brother had acted instead of him. He was glad Senri was fast enough a second later, though.

With a quick burst of energy, the shade exploded from the inside, disappearing as soon as it had appeared. Senri panted softly, amazed at how much power this shade was able to exhibit given it was only a part of the pureblood Zero had mentioned. He wasn't fooling. A thought hit Senri, making his lips curl into a frown. If he and Kaname together could barely take a shade from this creature, what if it had decided to stop playing games and just attack and kill them all? And what about the others, who obviously weren't purebloods? Or the two girls currently unconscious on the floor? There was no way they could take on this thing. Even at full strength. They had to figure out its' ability. Therein would lie its' weakness.

Blood's weakness was a creature with no blood. Shades.

Kinetic manipulation's weakness was a constant release of pheromones to weaken the psyche. Binds.

Metal hunter vines' weakness was water. Rust.

Ice's weakness was heat. Fire.

Fire's weakness was cool and lack of humidity. Oxygen.

Matter disintegration's weakness was immaterial. Plastic.

Lightning's weakness was lack of crashing electrons. Ice.

Illusionary's weakness was mental manipulation. Lucidity.

But what was this creature's ability?


	21. Chapter 21-I Don't Wanna Be Here Anymore

**A/N: I replaced all the bad words in this chapter with funny phrases. I think instead of actual cusswords, I'm going to go back and replace all of it with funny nonsense phrases. That's fun.**

**Senri's dream in this chapter is a reference to a scene in another book I wrote. In the scene, Senri dreams of shredding his friends apart to get their blood. He practically goes into full bloodlust, which is actually incredibly rare and difficult for a noble or aristocrat, and especially a pureblood(of course he's not a pureblood in that book, but that's a different story.).**

**So Enjoy~!**

**Discalimer: I do not own VK. That belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

"Stop it," Zero mumbled sleepily as he felt his hair being pulled lightly. "Stop."

But the pulling wouldn't stop, so the hunter sat up to face whatever was pulling it and came face-to-snout with a horse.

* * *

Aidou jolted awake as he heard a loud protest followed by a string of curses coming from across the garden. He quickly kicked his cousin awake, making the elder groan.

"Katski! Wake up!" Aidou hissed, and Kain glared at him sleepily. "What. The. Cow. Babies. Hana," he replied.

"I heard something."

"I'm hearing something too. It's really annoying and disturbing my sleep, like a yipping chihuahua."

"Hey, come on, that was one ti-"

"Chihuahua!"

"I'm gonna go find the others. You suck."

* * *

Senri tossed and turned on the soft grass, panting. Perspiration slicked his skin, staining his civil war-like clothes. He could smell blood, but it wasn't his. Was he even completely lucid?

Then he heard a loud shout of protest from across the garden; which effectively startled him and brought him to fully assess where they were.

Oh. This isn't Providence.

Senri tried to sit up, but met resistance. A soft groan was heard, and Senri looked down to meet with a glazed-over green gaze.

"What is it..? Is it that time of the week..? I thought I already got my shots over with..." Takuma said with some difficulty. He froze when he felt two arms wrap tightly around him.

"S-Senri!? How did you get out of your cell!? What's Ali gonna do!? She's gonna have both our heads; we're goners!" Takuma frowned as he met his lover's evil smirk. "Senri...why aren't you panicking..?"

"This isn't Providence."

"Oh yeah...wait, then where are we again..?"

"Dunno. I heard screaming and woke up. Wanna go investigate?"

"Sure. Why not?"

* * *

Kaname fell on his back laughing. Zero glared at the pureblood, pouting a bit. He had woken up to a horse eating at his hair; wasn't his fault the first thing to come out of his mouth was 'what the actual duck raddish'.

Aido, Kain, Takuma and Senri jogged up, and Zero frowned. "Wait a minute," he said, "I know this place." He stood and looked over the horizon where the sun was hiding behind dark grey clouds. "Yeah...this is that internment camp I went to when I was a kid. I know the inside of the building like the back of my hand," he said, reminiscing.

A younger Zero chased Ichiru through the fields, before both dove into one of the secret servant's tunnels to hide. They hiked for what seemed like hours up a slope, then out from a panel under the staircase and through the front door of the building.

"That's our ticket out," Zero said, "there's a servant's tunnel that leads straight to the front door. It's practically endless though, so I don't remember how far it is." Kaname shrugged. "What're we waiting for, then? Let's get out of here."


	22. Chapter 22-Tsunami

**A/N: Okay so this chapter is waaaaaaaaaaay longer for a reason-sorry kiddos, but this is it. This is the last chapter following our dear heroes. The next chapter will explain what happened to Alice, Kyo and Yagari. There's also gonna be a little note at the end of this chapter to prevent spoilers before anybody reads this.**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own VK. That belongs to Matsuri Hino.**

* * *

Aido was the first to test the size of the servant's tunnel; being the smallest of the group. He groaned. "It reeks in here, it's wet, cold, and I feel like I could barely fit. It might work if we were all small children," he said, scooting back out. Kaname pursed his lips. "Ruka has a similar ability. But we don't know where the girls are. They disappeared after we were moved."

"Maybe we don't need the girls," Zero said, "maybe I could use my vines to stretch down the tunnel and make it wider..?" Shiki shook his head. "Won't work. Whole place will cave if you try to do that."

"Maybe we can just piss Kaname off so he can let out a storm and destroy this place," Kain laughed, obviously joking from his tone. The group exchanged looks, and Takuma was the first to speak up. "That might not be a bad idea, Katsuki," he said, and Kaname shook his head. "No, it's not, but that's near impossible. We're all weak from the drugs. At the most, I'll get a wind and heavy rain going. That's not even close to what we need; and frankly, it looks pathetic."

"Who cares that it looks pathetic!?" Aido snapped, "we care about getting back alive!"

"Okay! We're not getting anywhere by arguing. We're at a standstill. We can't do anything with weakened abilities. But," Senri began, "we have an ex-human hunter with aristocrat-level abilities."

Zero crossed his arms. "And how do you suppose my abilities-"

"Patience, Zero, I'm getting there. Ever seen somebody climb something? Difficult, right? Ever seen somebody climb a building with vines going up the side?" Senri asked.

"Impossible," Kaname muttered, and Takuma frowned. "Love, is this going somewhere?"

"Yes. Listen: Zero uses his vines as a sort of rope for us to climb on. But he would need to get to the roof."

Zero scoffed, "yeah, and how do you suppose we do that?"

"Easy. They're your vines. You manipulate them up so you can reach the roof."

"...this is got to be the craziest thing I'll ever have agreed to."

* * *

Zero looked up at the roof, taking a deep breath.

"Nervous?" Kaname asked, rubbing the hunter's back. Zero practically purred under Kaname's touch. "Yeah," he finally admitted. "What if something goes wrong..? What if we don't make it over? Or there's no way to get down? Or someone gets hurt?"

"Shhh, Zero, it's gonna be okay. Nothing's going to happen. Senri and I are right here. He's going to the other side first and I'm going last, so if something goes wrong, there's a pureblood on either side of the wall to help."

"Yeah...okay." Zero smiled and Kaname rested his forehead against Zero's. "We'll get out of this, Zero. I promise."

Zero looked up at the wall once more before he knelt to the ground. "Alright," Senri grinned as he walked up, "let's do this!"

Zero let out a heavy breath and the ground began to rumble lightly as metal vines extended out and up the wall, connecting and wrapping together to form a sort of a net to climb, and then mapping over the wall to the other side and the ground by feel. Zero grinned, "I got ground." Senri nodded, "we're getting outta here. Brace yourselves." He hopped up on the vines and climbed all the way over, leaping to the ground as climbing down wasn't necessary. The remaining of the group all went over, one by one, until Zero and Kaname were left.

"Go," Kaname smiled, "I gotta be here to catch you if you fall." Zero blushed, "Kana...after everything that happened...I-I..."

"I know. But I want my friends to hear it. So I'm gonna make you say it in front of them when we're over the wall and safe."

Zero blushed furiously. "Twit," he growled playfully, and started to climb the vines.

Zero pulled himself up to the roof, and looked down where the others were gathered and waiting. After everything they'd been through, they were finally really truly free...

Kaname had started to climb up behind him, and Zero took a second to rest at the top and take in the view. Miles of mountain tops painted the background, luscious shades of greens and blues to accompany them. There were no animals, but there was a rather large lake past one of the split mountains that casted a gorgeous reflection of the dark, elegant sky and nearby scenery. Zero sighed contentedly, but suddenly jumped as he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He looked up, and a drop hit his cheek. Then another. And another. And another.

It was starting to rain.

Kaname joined Zero up at the roof, smiling at Zero's curiosity. He leaned forward slightly, just enough to catch Zero's attention, and to everyone's surprise, kissed the hunter.

Zero blushed madly as the pureblood pulled away; and Kaname chuckled in amusement. "Hi," he said.

"Hi," Zero replied softly, and tried to contain his laughter at what Kaname said next. "Race you down," the pureblood smirked.

"You're on."

Kaname easily flipped onto the ground, beating Zero down. "Looks like a win for the-" he stopped his teasing when he realized Zero wasn't behind him. "Zero..?" He called, but there was no answer, and it had begun to rain; badly.

"Zero!" The group searched for the hunter, and Takuma finally managed to make it over the wall to check if Zero had fallen to the other side when he froze in horror. "Oh my god," he said, and Kaname's heart lurched. The rest of the group went back up to the roof to see what had happened, and all froze at what they saw.

The group jumped down, all now dressed in yukatas, and stood beside Zero. The hunter shook his head, trying to register the scene in front of him. He'd read it a thousand times in history books, and dreamed of how cool it'd be to witness such an event, but now that he was there, he could think of a million places he'd rather be.

People dressed festively strung up paper lanterns, prepped booths, talked, laughed, cooked and prepared for that night. What was going to be the biggest co-existence festival in the history of human and vampire co-existence, was going to become a raid and turn into the start of the revolutionary war known as the Vampire/Hunter War.

* * *

**A/N: Originally, in my first edit, I killed Zero off. Syndeo got what they wanted: Zero dead, and the vampires lost in time so they wouldn't be able to defend themselves if it should so look as if they attacked him; Kaname would obviously had to have moved on. But there were too many things that didn't quite make sense, like firstly, how did Zero end up in the same time era..? I guess it'd still look bad; there'd be no body to prove anything; but still. Plus I wanted to leave things open to do a continuation. Then I decided to leave the members of Syndeo a mystery, and never introduce them in the book. It's possible they could show up in the prequel if I decide to do one, but for now, they shall remain legend. Here's a question for you all though; think about it.**

**Is Syndeo real?**

**Think about that for a minute. There's always a possibility they don't even exist, right? Like how we believe in the boogeyman. He may or may not exist, and there's plenty of proof from both sides. So you decide: is Syndeo real, or just a legend somebody made up to scare vampires?**

**Think about this: in the flashback Alice had where she was with her unit, there was a group of vampire hunters, mainly on the prowl for ex-humans. Syndeo's on the prowl for ex-humans.**


	23. Chapter 23-Digital Controller

Epilogue:

Alice kicked down the doors of the old castle, barging in. Yagari and Kyo followed, and there, with the bloody, torn, destroyed bodies of the vampires at its' feet, stood a pureblood Alice had long known and never forgotten.

"Hello, Alice. About time you finally learned to look at me."

**A/N: Yeah, 56 words. Short. But that's the point of an epilogue. They're only there to clear up anything uncleared. **

**Seriously, though, guys, if you can't figure out who the unnamed pureblood is in the story, you are all in serious need of help.**

**Let me spell it out for you. H-A-R-U-K-A.**

**Haruka, Juuri, and Yuuki were killed.**

**Their old mansion in now Providence.**

**In the caste they're in, Kain hears Juuri's voice.**

**Zero sees Yuuki run down the hall. **

**Nobody sees Haruka.**

**Purebloods have shades. **

**Haruka is a pureblood.**

**He watched his family get killed.**

**He's blood-crazy.**

**The pureblood that attacked the group is blood-crazy.**

**No, it's not Shizuka. I literally could not make it more obvious without bluntly saying: the pureblood creature in the castle is Haruka.**

**There.**


End file.
